South Warren fought valiantly the entire game against Bowling Green, and the Spartans put pressure on the Purples with a number of runs in the second half.
But the Purples answered the bell each and every time, and Bowling Green was finally able to pull away late for a well-earned 64-49 District 14 road victory on Tuesday night.
“Really nice road district win for us,” Bowling Green coach Derrick Clubb said. “South Warren is a really good team: well-coached, got a lot of talent and they’re starting to figure it out and get a lot better. I thought our guys really battled tonight, and this was a really good win.”
The win over the Spartans was on the heels of a hard-fought 66-57 win at Warren Central on Friday night, but the Purples were able to persevere and get the win against the Spartans.
“I was really proud of my kids coming off that Warren Central game to keep fighting like we did,” Clubb said.
Bowling Green (16-7, 6-1 District 14) led 30-21 at halftime, and the Purples extended their lead to 37-25 on a 3-pointer by Isaiah Mason at the 4:34 mark of the third quarter.
South Warren (12-11, 1-5) immediately answered out of the timeout with a four-point play from Tyler Martin to whittle the deficit to eight before a three-point play by Jace Carver narrowed the gap to 42-36 with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
The Purples ended the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 10-point lead into the fourth, but a trifecta by Carver made it 46-39 with 6:26 left in regulation.
Both sides swapped baskets for a few minutes—with Bowling Green not being able to build a lead bigger than 11—before had a layup in transition to make it 55-47 at the 2:50 mark.
But that would be the closest that South Warren would get the remainder of the night.
The Purples generated turnovers on the defensive end and putbacks on the offensive end in the final minutes, and Bowling Green was able to escape with the victory.
Davion Dice led Bowling Green with 15 points while Jarius Key tallied 13—including a pair of rather impressive dunks in the first half.
Mason was one board shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Spartans were led in the loss by Martin and Carver with 14 points apiece.
Bowling Green will now shift its focus to the Hoopin’ on the Hill Tournament this weekend, which will bring several prestigious programs and players to Bowling Green.
“We have about six prep schools coming,” Clubb said. “There are eight to ten Top 100 players. There are six guys that Western Kentucky has targeted with offers.”
The Purples will first play University Heights (Hopkinsville). The Blazers are led by Dekeyvan “KyKy” Tandy, who Clubb says “is one of the best guards in the state of Kentucky.” Bowling Green will square off against Adair County—and former Purple Zion Harmon—after their game with UHA.
Meanwhile South Warren will look to return to the winning path at Greenwood on Friday night.
